Celsius vs Fahrenheit
Two everyday temperature scales — same physics, different zero points and step sizes.
| Celsius (°C) | Fahrenheit (°F) | |
|---|---|---|
| Water freezes | 0 °C | 32 °F |
| Water boils | 100 °C | 212 °F |
| Body temperature | 37 °C | 98.6 °F |
| Step size | 1 °C = 1.8 °F | 1 °F = 0.56 °C |
| Used by | Almost every country | USA, Cayman Islands, Belize |
- Aligns with the metric system
- Easy 0 / 100 reference points
- Used by all scientific literature
- Finer step size for ambient weather
- Familiar to US audiences
- Maps weather to a 0–100 'feels like' scale
When to use which
Use Celsius for science, cooking with metric recipes, and anywhere outside the US.
Use Fahrenheit when speaking to a US audience about weather or comfort.
Historical context
Anders Celsius proposed his scale in 1742 (originally inverted — 0 was boiling). Daniel Fahrenheit set his zero in 1724 using the coldest ice/salt brine he could make, then divided body temperature and freezing water into 96 equal steps. Modern Fahrenheit is just a redefined linear version.
Practical recommendation
Related tools
FAQs
Why is body temperature 98.6°F such an odd number?+
Because it was derived from 37°C — and 37 × 1.8 + 32 = 98.6.
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